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Location: Sugar Land, TX | Another newbie question here. I'm seeing guitars made in Korea and China. What's the difference (other than the obvious)? A little history if you don't mind. |
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| The label reads right to left in one, left to right in the other.
Have you been living on a different planet for the the last twenty years? |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Can't hep ya on the 'O's, but the K Epiphones are/were superior to the C Eppies! Just my .02 FRN... |
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Location: Jet City | I spose it depends on where in China (it's a big place).
I know the difference between Seoul and Peking is about 600 miles.
I'm better at geography than history, sorry. ;) |
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Location: Sugar Land, TX | O.k., maybe I wasn't specific enough so here goes again. While browsing Ebay, I have seen Ovation Celebrity models where the label in the bowl reads, "Made in Korea" while other models read "Made in China". It's not a geography question. It's about production and quality, etc. |
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Location: NJ | ". . It's about production and quality, etc. . ."
It's about Labor Co$ts.
China's the new Korea (who used t'be the new Japan). |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Warning Corey... Talking about Celebrity's is an invitation to Trouble.
But through past experience, I "THINK" Korea is better. I have a few Korean solid bodies and I have had my share of Korean O's.
I think that the Koreans have been doing it longer, they make more money (totally relative concept) and may take abit more time and pride in their work. Since they have been doing it longer.
They also make Tak's, BC Riches, Washburns, and a bunch of other guitars. And have been for years. |
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Location: Sugar Land, TX | So I assume that at some point, production moved from Korea to China and that's why I see the different labels. |
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Location: Warren,Pa. | fuydahmoa, some years ago China couldn't turn out quality guitars. They have since learned and are doing a fine job. I suspect as China's guitar-making infastructure grows Korean-made guitars will become a thing of the past.
Just a little note: I was in a VERY OLD music store in Dayton a couple months ago...all old-timers working there. They had a few made-in-China Guilds on the wall, and we had a conversation about the whole transition to Connecticut. They were perfectly happy with the China Guilds and didn't seem to think they'd have a need for USA versions. It bothered them a little...but not enough to spend a lot more for USA models.
John <>{ |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Wrap your mind around This!
The Japanese Takamines (Hirades?) are the Expensive ones... And supposedly the best ones. |
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Location: Scotland | It's down to street price. When a distibutor demands a tricked-out guitar from a Chinese factory that can be sold at bottom-dollar then somewhere down the line corners will be cut.
Given the leeway to produce without the restraints of a cheap end-user price then Chinese production can be as good as anywhere else.
Here's a perfect example. The Bose L1 is made in China. It's an expensive piece of equipment, the model 2 lists at over 2 grand $USD. The fact that it's made in China is a non-issue for me because it works perfectly and has never let me down in nearly 3 years of constant gigging. I wouldn't trust a version that looked similar but cost less, regardless of where it was made. And that's the thing about most Chinese guitar production. They kinda look like the real thing, but are just cheap (and often nasty) lookalikes, because that's what Western distributors ask them to make.
And the Chinese Guilds I've seen are pretty damn good. I've seen late 70's USA production that was shoddy by comparison. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | A good friend of mine was in charge of building large manufacturing plants in China for Caterpillar during the 1990s. The production standards and materials in those plants is every bit as strict and spec-intensive as in the U.S. This may not apply to all industries, but it is on point. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Some Chinese guitars may be better than their Korean counterparts. I have noticed several cheap guitars made in China that had solid tops, when a similar model made in Korea was laminated. |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | The Morgan Monroes that I sell are made in China. They have solid woods, bone nuts and saddles, lifetime warranties, and more importantly, the best SOUND! I had a guy come in who had just bought a three thousand dollar Martin and he almost cried when he picked up my Morgan. And just last week a guy came in who had just bought a Laravie, and he wished he had come in here first because he would have bought a Morgan instead. It depends more on what the American parent company wants and will accept than where it is made. I suspect that Ovation would demand at least the same quality out of their China factory as they do out of the Korea factory. |
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Location: Scotland | That big ol' 12 fret slothead Epiphone from a coupla years ago was Chinese. Solid cedar top, solid rosewood back and sides, great vintage "Roy Smeck" style dread. Best damn guitar at the '06 (or possibly '05) NAMM show bar none. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I've played several fantastic Chinese made BlueRidge guitars. |
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Location: Nashville TN. | At least the ones I saw the China made ones had cheaper preamps. Korean seem to have a little attention to detail and higher end materials. |
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Location: Jet City | Originally posted by cliff:
". . It's about production and quality, etc. . ."
It's about Labor Co$ts.
China's the new Korea (who used t'be the new Japan). Malaysia is the new China? Or is it Indonesia? |
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Location: NJ | If it's Tuesday, this must be Macau. . . |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Been to Macau. Very strange place. |
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Location: NJ | That's cuz y'didn't go on Tuesday . . . |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | As the price of shipping across the seas rises, I believe there will be increased interest in moving production facilities south of the border, too. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Well, in terms of quality, it depends. Both koreans and chinese make nice guitars. They also make crap guitars. The quality is controlled by ovation(fender) so the most obvious determinative is the price. The more you pay, the better the guitar. Generally, the koreans are better. Generally, the better guitars are american.
Apropos of chinese vs american, I was given some chinese made pedals, and they are as good as any made in america. If you buy the same quality, made in USA you have to pay over 50% more. Something's not right, but I'm keeping them. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Pacific Rim Manufacturers benefit from the lower Labor costs and less stringent waste and processing rules. That is a strong point in their favor(?).
Location does not however dictate quality. If Plant "A" is contracted to produce a certain number of units that must meet a specific quality then that's what they will do. The key factors will be their Supply lines and available resources. We see that in the use of Nayato(sp) vs. Mahogany wood.
Another key element is the level of available Machinery to do the job. This is where co-dependant Production Technology comes in.
If the Company makes Military Grade components chances are that the Guitars will have a higher grade of tolerance to the spec.
I was at a "Holiday Show" this weekend where I met Andrew and got the 1581. I met a couple there selling ornaments, earings and pendants made of Titanium!
It turns out that the guy has a water-Laser set up and replicates aircraft parts that are obsolete. With the scraps he cuts earings and such out of exotic metals.
So my point is that quality is what you ask for and how much you are willing to pay for it.
Costs are determined by the availability of Materials, Manpower, Methods and Machinery. |
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Location: northern virginia | Originally posted by CanterburyStrings:
The Morgan Monroes that I sell are made in China. They have solid woods, bone nuts and saddles, lifetime warranties, and more importantly, the best SOUND! I had a guy come in who had just bought a three thousand dollar Martin and he almost cried when he picked up my Morgan. And just last week a guy came in who had just bought a Laravie, and he wished he had come in here first because he would have bought a Morgan instead. It depends more on what the American parent company wants and will accept than where it is made. I suspect that Ovation would demand at least the same quality out of their China factory as they do out of the Korea factory. I have to admit - I have some Chinese made Dean acoustics that I picked up as “leave out all the time and don’t cry if you kick it or the cat sprays on it” guitars, and they too have the standard sold tops and "exotic" laminate bodies, and they sound and play...forgive me for this...they sound and play every bit well as most of our US made dreadnaughts that cost five times as much. Sad but true. Also, they seem to be more impervious to season change...go figure |
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"Made in Korea" vs. "Made in China"
